You’re right, I did mix up two passages. Cynical Bear’s post 584 got me thrown off. Here it is:
It is what you understanding of what faith is that causes dependence on works. Even Devils and Demons have faith that God exists. They also encourage people to do good works to deceive those who fall for it to think it’s they (the people who are doing the good works) who are good. An example of what the faith that saves means one could compare faith in the dollar. If you truly have faith in the dollar you will hold on to that dollar with faith that it will buy the things you want. If you do not have “faith” in the dollar you will exchange that dollar for something you think will retain value to purchase things you want or need such as gold for instance.
Faith that saves is consistent, ongoing reliance on Jesus as our salvation. What that faith produces are actions that stem from a changed heart. Those actions are proof or evidence that our faith is real. Dependence on works for salvation proves that we did not have faith that the sacrifice of Jesus was sufficient for our salvation. On the other hand, if we don’t have the actions described, it proves that what faith we had wasn’t real.
Thanks for the correction. From now on, I’ll scrutinize his posts more carefully, for just such a possibility, now that I know he does that..
Isn’t it common courtesy that when you reference someone you ping them?
Nope, you can't blame Cynical Bear for your mistake. It started WAY before his #584. In fact, this is where you went wrong:
To: boatbums
Those people are NOT the ones who refused to believe - they call him Lord - but they were relying on their "many wonderful works" they did to earn them eternal life. This gift only comes by faith in the grace of God who gives us eternal life through Christ, not our works.
I suggest you look at that scripture again, to remind yourself of what Christ Jesus really said, not how you choose to twist it. Matthew 25:30-50 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ 37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ 41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Where did Chrst sy their faith would save them? Let's be literal here.
448 posted on Wednesday, October 26, 2011 3:53:17 AM by Judith Anne ( Holy Mary, Mother of God, please pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.)